Report: TJ Brown "sought out (the shooter) and physically attacked him. All of the evidence clearly supports a reasonable belief ... that his life was in imminent danger."

By Austin L. MillerStaff writer

Citing the "stand your ground" law, the State Attorney's Office on Wednesday said it will not file charges against the man who shot and killed another man July 9 in a Silver Springs Shores parking lot.Authorities say Colt D. Thriemer, 20, of Weirsdale, shot and killed Thomas James "TJ" Brown, 21, of Silver Springs Shores, during an argument in the Wal-Mart parking lot off Maricamp Road.Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt noted in an eight-page report that Brown had been threatening to kill Thriemer and his family for months. Thriemer had told his parents, brother, girlfriend and friends about the threats. Those people were interviewed and backed up Thriemer's statement.Berndt stated that most people, including Thriemer, knew that Brown had access to several firearms and carried a gun. She cited two previous police reports that mentioned Brown firing a weapon.On the night Brown was shot, the report notes, Brown "sought out Thriemer and physically attacked him. All of the evidence clearly supports a reasonable belief by Thriemer that his life was in imminent danger, giving Thriemer immunity from criminal prosecution."According to the report, "all of the evidence supports a reasonable belief that Brown was about to arm himself in an attempt to obtain money from Thriemer. The use of deadly force to prevent this forcible felony is also justified by the statute."Brown's father, Frank, disagreed with the state's decision. "This is not right. He murdered my son," the father said Wednesday.Frank Brown's wife, Patty, added: "I feel hurt. He killed my son. What for? It's not self-defense."A woman who answered the phone at Thriemer's home declined to comment.The report states that, based on people who knew Brown, he was not the same person he was six months ago. The report contains this statement: "An addiction to crack cocaine, as well as a drug debt, apparently caused him to become increasingly violent, aggressive and threatening, and ultimately led to his death."Interviews with friends of both men revealed the two "were good friends" and that when Thriemer lost his job at Munroe Regional Medical Center roughly six months ago, he began working with Brown, who had a lawn maintenance business.While working with Brown, Thriemer learned his friend was selling marijuana. Seeing the amount of money Brown was making selling drugs, Thriemer began selling drugs for Brown and was given a gun to carry, according to the report.The gun given to Thriemer — a 9mm weapon — was the gun used to shoot and kill Brown, officials said.The report states that Brown branched out from selling marijuana to selling cocaine. Thriemer did not want to be involved in the drug business and wanted a way out. During that time, authorities were told, Thriemer owed Brown $200 for marijuana and Brown was threatening Thriemer that he needed to repay the money.Thriemer's parents told law enforcement officials that there was "a bullet out there with Thriemer's name on it if Thriemer didn't pay him the money," according to the report.Thriemer borrowed $200 from his parents and went to Brown's home and paid him. When he returned home, Thriemer's parents said, their son had a black eye and a busted lip.Brown kept demanding money from Thriemer and Thriemer's mother gave him another $150 to give Brown, hoping the threats would stop, the report notes.Weeks before Brown's death, Thriemer told his parents to call law enforcement officials if Brown showed up at the house because he feared what Brown might do to him and to them. He also told his brother about Brown's threats.About two weeks before the shooting, Thriemer said he was driving down a road when Brown, driving in the opposite direction, turned around and chased him. He said he drove to his brother's residence and Brown drove away, the document states.Thriemer said he told a deputy about Brown's threat. While the deputy said he does not remember Thriemer talking to him about Brown's threats, he does remember talking to Thriemer and his brother about "legal issues in the past."Several other people talked about Brown's threats to Thriemer, including one who said Brown bought and sold guns and had six guns. Officials were told Brown always had a gun in his truck, the report states.Brown was reported to have beaten up his former girlfriend, Alexia Torres.According to the report, Torres said she left Brown because of his drug problem and that he was physically abusive to her. In one instance, she said, he beat her and took her cellphone and refused to return it unless she went to an ATM and got $20 for him for drugs.Text messages from Thriemer's phone showed messages sent by Brown threatening Thriemer about wanting his money back. One of the messages said, "my money or you want me to come."Brown's parents denied their son was involved in drugs and told officials that Thriemer had lost his job and they loaned him $500.Thriemer denied borrowing money from Brown's parents.After the shooting, deputies searched Brown's truck and found a small amount of marijuana inside. They also found a small baggie with cocaine residue in one of Brown's socks, officials said.A toxicology report on Brown has not yet been completed."These are all lies," Brown's father said about the report.He said he and his wife plan to hire an attorney "to fight it," and plan to picket the courthouse.The night of the shooting, officials at the scene were told that Brown and Thriemer saw each other. One of Thriemer's friends said Brown told Thriemer that he had a gun in his truck and demanded that Thriemer give him his money, the report states.Witnesses said Brown punched Thriemer twice in the face and Thriemer didn't "fight back." Some witnesses said Thriemer was punched only once.Thriemer's friend said that after the punch, Thriemer told Brown he should "cut this out" and said "we used to be friends." Thriemer said Brown told him "I have a gun in the truck and I'm not afraid to use it," according to the report.At that time, Brown walked toward his truck.Thriemer told authorities he believed Brown was going for a gun so he reached into his own vehicle, took out a 9mm and fired at Brown, the report states.Thriemer drove away but was later stopped by deputies and taken to the Marion County Sheriff's Office for an interview. Officials said there were six unfired rounds in the gun: one in the chamber and five in a magazine clip.Detectives said Thriemer was cooperative during their investigation.An autopsy showed that Brown was shot multiple times with entry wounds "in various parts of his body, but primarily in his back."A crying Casaundra Reckner, who was at the scene the night of the shooting, said Wednesday that she does not think Thriemer's actions fall under the "stand your ground" law."No, I don't think it was self-defense. TJ used his fist. He had no weapons or anything. All he was doing was trying to fight," she said.Authorities did not recover a gun from Brown's vehicle.In an earlier interview with a Star-Banner reporter, Stephanie Torres, who was with Brown at the time of the shooting, said Thriemer often borrowed money from Brown and that Brown would ask for the money back. She said Brown wouldn't ask Thriemer to give him everything he owed, just whatever he could.In the parking lot that night, she said, Brown got out and talked with Thriemer, who was outside his own truck. Torres said she could not hear what they were talking about because they spoke in low voices and that Brown's truck, which was running, was loud.Torres said she saw Brown punch Thriemer once in the face. Thriemer then reached into his truck, she said, and got a gun and shot Brown.When Brown turned around, she said, Thriemer continued to shoot. She estimated hearing eight or nine shots, and most of them were aimed toward Brown's back, she said, adding that Brown was not armed.People at the scene at the time of the shooting were not happy with the state's decision."There's no self-defense. I don't think it's right for him to get away with shooting somebody," Nichole Mahan said. "TJ died in my arms."Her boyfriend, Darrell Blackwelder, said there is no reason to shoot someone multiple times and call it self-defense."He deserves some type of punishment," he said of Thriemer.As for the multiple shots fired by Thriemer, Berndt wrote: "The number of rounds fired by Thriemer might be considered evidence of malice. However, in many self-defense shootings (including those involving law enforcement officers) numerous shots are fired. The type of firearm used by Thriemer could fire 10 shots in a matter of seconds. Witnesses on the scene agree the shots were fired rapidly. The number of shots fired is not sufficient evidence to overcome the immunity granted by the statute."Berndt closes the report with this statement: "The stand your ground statute makes no exception from the immunity because Brown may have been walking away from Thriemer at the time the deadly force was used. The stand your ground law does not require Thriemer to wait until Brown in fact retrieved a gun before he fired. Under the current state of the law and the facts of this case, Thriemer was legally allowed to use deadly force based on a reasonable belief that his life was in danger and that he was about to become the victim of an armed robbery."Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118 or austin.miller@starbanner.com.